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The early Cambrian Kylinxia zhangi and evolution of the arthropod head
O’Flynn, Robert J Liu, Yu Hou, Xianguang Mai, Huijuan Yu, Mengxiao Zhuang, Songling Williams, Mark Guo, Jin
O’Flynn, Robert J
Liu, Yu
Hou, Xianguang
Mai, Huijuan
Yu, Mengxiao
Zhuang, Songling
Williams, Mark
Guo, Jin
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2023-08-28
Submitted Date
2023-04-19
Subject Terms
anterior sclerite
computed tomography
euarthropod head
median eye
computed tomography
euarthropod head
median eye
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The early Cambrian Kylinxia zhangi occupies a pivotal position in arthropod evolution, branching from the euarthropod stem lineage between radiodonts (Anomalocaris and relatives) and "great-appendage" arthropods.<sup>1</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>2</sup> Its combination of appendage and exoskeletal features is viewed as uniquely bridging the morphologies of so-called "lower" and "upper" stem-group euarthropods.<sup>3</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>4</sup> Microtomographic study of new specimens of Kylinxia refines and corrects previous interpretation of head structures in this species. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating new data reinforce the placement of Kylinxia in the euarthropod stem group but support new hypotheses of head evolution. The head of Kylinxia is composed of six segments, as in extant mandibulates, e.g., insects.<sup>5</sup> In Kylinxia, these are an anterior sclerite associated with an unpaired median eye and paired lateral eyes (thus three rather than five eyes as was previously described<sup>1</sup>), deutocerebral frontal-most appendages, and four pairs of biramous appendages (rather than two pairs of uniramous appendages). Phylogenetic trees suggest that a six-segmented head in the euarthropod crown group was already acquired by a common ancestor with Kylinxia. The segmental alignment and homology of spinose frontal-most appendages between radiodonts and upper stem-group euarthropods<sup>6</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>7</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>8</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>9</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>10</sup> is bolstered by morphological similarities and inferred phylogenetic continuity between Kylinxia and other stem-group euarthropods.
Citation
O’Flynn, R.J. et al. (2023) ‘The early Cambrian Kylinxia Zhangi and evolution of the arthropod head’, Current Biology, 33(18). doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.022.
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Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. The attached file is the published version of the article.
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0960-9822
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1879-0445
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openAccess